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Re: BBA and P


>i'm having a huge problem with BBA (black brush algae) in my 55 gallon tank, 
>which is not affecting any of the other 5 tanks i have.  the only big 
>difference in this tank is that it has a huge piece of driftwood taht the 
>others don't have.  is it possible that driftwood is leaching out 
>phosphates/phosphorus?  
>
>also, what's a good filter media to use to trap and remove excess 
>phosphates/phosphorus?
>
>thanks roger for your insights.  
>
>tsuh yang chen, nyc, USA

Co2(not enough) and/or high fish load almost always are the main cause BBA
in most cases.
P is a secondary cause in most cases. Do you have DIY yeast for CO2? You
might look into adding more bottles or adding the CO2 in a more efficient
manner. DIY CO2 is usually not enough for larger tanks above 40 gallons
unless you employ several bottles @ 2liters each if you have 2watts or over
in lighting and a full planted tank. 
    Add some fast growing plants to help the tank bounce back. Add SAE's, do
water changes, remove infected leaves, bleach the wood some and dechlornate
in the usual method. It's a big job typically<g>! It can take awhile for
SAE's to remove it. They do eat it. It can take some time to get rid of this
algae unlike many others which can be dealt with in a week or less some
times. I seriously doubt the wood is the source of P. Wood is a great
substrate for BBA(and other algae) though.......it's like the glass, you
have to clean it off every so often. Water changes, provided the source
water is low in P is a great way to remove the P. Sea Chem makes a great P
remover and I've been very happy with it. You'll need to run it (tank water)
through(the filter /sump/canister/etc) slowly and keep up on maintenance. It
gets hot at first. Read directions for use etc. There are other brands out
there too. I like this one personally.
  If your plants are struggling in just one tank, then it's not likely it's
P causing it(BBA) unless you dose P into your tanks. It's the N or CO2.
These you add  to your tanks(food,fish,gas) and this means you can
over/under do it. I've done it and so has everyone else on this list. See
why P is not the cause unless you have a piece of wood soaked in P? And what
are the chances of that? You do water changes which will remove P also so
there's little chance of build up.
You can also remove the wood and see what transpires.
     BBA likes Anubias/java fern and other plants that grow slow. Another
good algae substrate and BBA love them.
Check into it. I've been down that road before<g>. 
    Test(NO3 and CO2 and maybe P) and ye shall see the truth before thine
eyes.
Regards, 
Tom Barr